so I finally am sick of dealing with my mars hydro burning out (it seems like every few months tops) and have been debating the last few days on getting the spider farmer sf-600 led. Anyone have any thoughts/advice/experience with that one? Would prefer to fo with the 1000 watt one but its over what j can currently afford.
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I have the sf4000 and love it. The sf 600 is only 85 watts so it would be best in a small space.
What is the size of your grow space? That sf 600 is recommended for a 1.5ā x 1.5ā space.
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Iāll be the one, that posts the obligatory āhave ya thought about building your own?ā. With the help here, I built a fantastic bridgelux light. The community has posted a walkthrough. Also, another great option? Solstrips? Heās a sponsor, and follows through quickly with emails.
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@anon81143130 hereās the tent I have, I donāt use the rack or center divider. TopoGrow 2-in-1 Indoor Grow Tent 36"X24"X53" 600D High-Reflective W/2-Tiered for Lodge Propagation and Flower Plant Growing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XYKLJ76/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_oNAWEbDRYY1GV
@SerialSquishy I have and I want to/plan to Iāve been looking into sol strips and the diy led threads. Another of it right now is cost and nerves. But is definitely planned in near future
Edit: isnāt it @Baudelaire that does sol strips?
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The cost, after buying everything, calmed my nerves a bit? Assembled, after a month? Definitely so. Iāve spent 1.06 kw on electricity so far this month. Versus 3.07 kw on the 600 watt hid, running 50% on a digital ballast. Lighting two identical environments. Worth a double look on bridgelux and solstrip builds. IMO.
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Iāve never used a hid, currently running a Mars hydro 600watt led. And the reason I say time and cost is because I have plants in flower in the tent so I donāt really have a month to wait to get all parts shipped and then building it.
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My Woman and I built Our light in less then a couple of hours. Spent a week waiting on suppliesā¦ Just being the devils advocate!
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Thats not to shabby, was that pre-covid or recently?
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Go with King bright hereās a pic from pappapuffās unit
320$ including shipping taxs etc
Oops didnāt see it was time sensitive. The light spectrum on the spider farmer isnāt what Iād want for flower
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I appreciate it, even without the time frame part its over my budget, one of the main reasons I was looking at the SF light was price as it was only $100 plus tax and shipping.
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Well if your growing autos with the longer days the sf-600 would work, but doing any photoperiods i think you may end up needing/wanting more light which the SF-1000 would be a bit more suited.
Diy route say with bridgeluxs, you would be looking at $85-90 plus 25% trump tax ātrade tariffsā if your in the states so $100-115ish and sales tax plus frame and wire which usually can be sourced easily, but would get you a light in the 136-150w range which is more than enough for the 2x2 side in your tent.
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If fast (30 min) DIY build time and fast US delivery are priorities, check out our SolStix Rax kits.
If youāre just looking for quality and value in a plug-and-play ready lamp, the SolSheet O is perfect for a 2x2. Peace -b420
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I wish I could afford either one right now. Iād be on it in a heartbeat
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Any idea what is dying in the Mars units?
Cheers
G
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I know certain diodes seem to keep going out, Iām thinking about trying to swap out one of the drivers and see if it helps since it seems to mainly be the same ones that keep going out.
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Interesting, that points a finger at a design flaw. Is there any mounting hardware (like a screw) near the dead LEDs? Any sign of overheating around the dead parts?
Usually they connect the LEDs in long strings and the driver powers multiple parallel strings. So typically (like Christmas tree lights) if you loose one LED you loose the string but there is some ātrick shitā they can do to bypass a bad one and keep the rest going but that isnāt overly common. Are you loosing a string or individual part?
The drivers are probably OK, especially if they are Mean Well or Philips.
Two primary issues that will take out a diode is a cracked solder joint or heat. As the solder tabs are tucked under the parts that becomes harder to repair (difficult, but it can be done). Mounting hardware can add stress to the PCB which can lead to cracked solder joints close to the hardware.
Cheers
G
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I also suggest kingbrite over SF. You could build your own light but depending on which route you take with that the cost may come out higher. You can grab a 240 actual watt kingbrite for like 160ish
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@Gpaw after in home Iāll snap some pics of it. Iāve wondered if it could be something like that. Thinking I may see about having a more electronically skilled friend of mine check it and see if thereās anything like that. It seems like its the same couple diodes that seem to be going out, i will admit I donāt have the cleanest soldering skills. Regardless at this point once I get some $ saved up/set aside I want to see about a better light for in tent and use the mars hydro for vegā¦or I may just decide to recreate the copy/fax machine scene from office space with it once I get a new lightā¦
@Beerus I had considered kingbrite but wasnāt sure as I had never really heard anything about them positive or negative. Iāll have to check em Out more .
I had a look at the specs for the LED diode they are using, they do have the internal zener. So if the LED diode go N/F the string it is in will keep working.
Photos will help.
Cheers
G
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Which specs did you find? Only asking because I got the light back in 2018, also I feel stupid asking but what does N/F mean?
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